Posted on

To care or not to care? That is the question.

John 13:34-35 (AMP)  I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.

The word “love” here is the in the Greek agape. It is not a word for emotion but a description of doing things for the benefit of another person. It is having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.

My husband and I are in a theme of Restore on Sundays. We minster together. It is a teaching we have been doing for over a year now. Often times as a person we want to be restored without having to make any effort on our part, because sacrifice has become as bad of a word in the church as repentance. A surrendered life is the example Jesus lived. It puts responsibility on me. We hold onto the truth that Christ paid it all on the cross, yet forget the words of Paul, “continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ] (Philippians 2:12).” I do not work for my salvation, but I am responsible for maturing. I am responsible for my surrender. Let’s go back to what Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you have love and unselfish concern for one another.” This takes maturity, because I am selfish by nature, as are you. The best place to work this out of ourselves is in a group of people with the same purpose. That’s right, I am talking about the body of believers in your church.

Hebrews 10:23-25 (AMP) Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.

If you do not think the people in your church are important enough for you to be present, then you are missing out on a great opportunity to work out your salvation. You are missing the part that Jesus told us, “This is My commandment, that you love and unselfishly seek the best for one another, just as I have loved you. No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends. (John 15:12-13).” He is not talking about dying for each other, He is talking about us dying to ourselves. He is asking us to genuinely care for each other. Care so much that you see how important they are in the Kingdom. Why are we so self concerned whether someone else’s life looks better than our own, that we cannot care for one another? It really is a sad state because how is the world suppose to know that we are His? If you have love and unselfish concern for one another.

Let’s put it another way. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We are to take care of this temple. Often times we only pertain this to ourselves. Look what Ephesians 2:19-22 has to say, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in the Lord [a sanctuary dedicated, set apart, and sacred to the presence of the Lord]. In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” We are being build up together. I am not an individual set apart, I am apart of a body that is set apart. Know you can see what they are talking about in Hebrews about falling away from meeting together and the harm it does. I cannot do this on my own and I was never suppose to. Look at Haggai 1:2-10 and see what happens when we do not care about the temple of the Lord (the body of Christ). We lose in more aspects than we could ever imagine. We wonder why we struggle.

I’ve heard that there is no condemnation in Christ. I do not have to do any of this because works do not make me saved. That is all true. Works do not make me saved. However, I am not to neglect because of my freedom. That is not the character and nature of God and does not line up. We often like to quote Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].” However, we often use it out of context. It comes on the heals of Paul admitting to his own selfish tendencies. He is not giving himself permission to be selfish, but pointing back to a surrendered life. So I am not in condemnation because I have surrendered…that is how I am in Christ Jesus. That is why I want to care and show love for others. That is why I show up every Sunday. It is my worship to Him. It is not about me! Excuses make it about me. A surrendered life will want to follow the new commandment. A surrendered life cannot help but want to serve as Jesus did (John 13:5-15). He was the ultimate example, we are to do as He did. To care or not to care? If you really care then show up and serve.

Lord of the Universe, our Father and our Maker, we honor You today with every breath that is in our lungs. We praise You for who you are. There is none like You. We thank You for Your Son. We thank You that He lived the perfect life and gave us victory over death. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. We thank You that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells in us. We repent for squandering our Salvation by not maturing like You desire us to. We repent for continuing to live for ourselves and not walking out salvation to build each other up. We repent for not accepting the gift of the body of Christ and loving each other. We repent for not caring. Look at our hearts and take out any part that is within me that has continued to harden towards the love You want me to give. We choose today to turn back to Your face and live a life of surrender. We choose to walk in forgiveness and desire to see the best in others. We choose joy as our weapon. You said that Joy is our strength and I cannot have that apart from You. We desire to see Your Kingdom established and we repent for only caring about our own. Your Son said it is of not any benefit to do for those who would only do for us in return (Luke 6:32-35). Let us choose to be merciful and compassionate just as You are. We choose hope today. We choose joy today. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

When we are vexed and distraught

Psalms 18:6 (AMP) In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.

Psalms 120:1 (AMP) In my trouble I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.

When we have problems, who do we need to run to? I was having a problem in my mind yesterday. It started with a bad thought towards someone from something they shared on social media. I started to analyze it and dissect it. Why? Secretly I was hurt with this individual. It was nothing they had done to me personally either. I was judging their fruit against the post and how to me it seemed they were trying to find spiritual speak to defend their reasoning (half Word is not Truth). This vexed me because I was not thinking right and I knew it.

What did I do? I went to God in prayer about it. I did not ask Him to change them, I asked Him to change me. Help me to have a pure heart, Lord. Why? I want to be effective in His Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (AMP) If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love [for others growing out of God’s love for me], then I have become only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal [just an annoying distraction]. And if I have the gift of prophecy [and speak a new message from God to the people], and understand all mysteries, and [possess] all knowledge; and if I have all [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love [reaching out to others], I am nothing. If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it does me no good at all.

I do not want to be a distraction in the Kingdom. Therefore, I need to cast down the thoughts that have a distraction, or try to vex me, to truly love the way He wants me to love. Love is not a feeling, it is the ability to be selfless. This is not the same of thinking less of myself. When I take up imaginations that are not believing the best for others, then I am not loving well. I am actually starting to live for self.

1 John 5:1-5 (AMP) Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him. By this we know [without any doubt] that we love the children of God: [expressing that love] when we love God and obey His commandments. For the [true] love of God is this: that we habitually keep His commandments and remain focused on His precepts. And His commandments and His precepts are not difficult [to obey]. For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God]. Who is the one who is victorious and overcomes the world? It is the one who believes and recognizes the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.

How do I know that I am victorious in this love thing? I keep surrendering it to Jesus. I am making it a habit to keep His commandments and to remain focused on His precepts. His commandments and precepts are not difficult to obey when I keep my eyes on Him. Did I not just battle though? Yes I did. I chose to surrender. I chose to repent. I chose to change my focus to love Him first. I chose to pray blessings and wisdom over the individual. I chose forgiveness, so I can lead in love. I do not have to feel like loving to choose to love. Love is self sacrifice.

Amanda chooses to endure with patience and serenity, Amanda chooses to be kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; Amanda chooses not to brag and is not proud or arrogant. Amanda chooses not to be rude; chooses not to be self-seeking, chooses not to be provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; Amanda chooses not to take into account a wrong endured. Amanda chooses not to rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Amanda chooses to bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Amanda chooses to submit to the love that never fails, that is in Christ Jesus (taken and adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Take the Word and apply it to your life as well. When we surrender our will to His then it will become less burdensome. I enjoy His commandments, because with them I am free from the condemnation that my thoughts being so weak brings. When I am distressed I should run to Him, not away. He is where my help comes from, especially in my love walk. What do you think His commandment was?

John 13:34 (AMP) I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.

Mark 12:30-31 (AMP) and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’ This is the second: ‘You shall [unselfishly] love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Lord, we honor You today with our praise and thanksgiving. We are thankful that we can run to You in times of distress, even when it is self inflicted. Thank You for sending Your Son to live a life without sin, to die on the cross and rise victoriously from the grave. We know that He is interceding for us at Your right hand. We thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can recognize when our thoughts do not line up with the Truth of Your Word. Thank You for the Word of Knowledge that we receive when we spend time with the Holy Spirit. We repent for not coming to You sooner. You care for us, even when our thoughts become distressing. We thank You for being strong when we are weak. We choose to surrender our thoughts and our hearts to You today. We choose forgiveness for others and ourselves today. We choose love today. We choose hope today. We choose faith today. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Posted on

I have never been here

Numbers 13:1-3 (AMP) Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel. From each of their fathers’ tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” So Moses sent spies from the Wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the Israelites.

My oldest son will be returning from his first ever solo trip today. He got to the airport before ten this morning and his flight out does not take place until after six this evening. He is ready to come home. This trip was a gift for his high school graduation from us (mom and dad). He flew eight hundred miles, to a city he had never been before, to meet people he had only had a relationship with online. This was not a hook up. This was suppose to be an in person meeting because they play games online with each other nightly.

The Lord told Moses to send out leaders to spy out the land. One from every tribe. They were to be gone for forty days, longer than the trip took to reach their destination.

Numbers 13:17-20 (AMP) Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the Negev (the South country); then go up into the hill country.  See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many,  and whether the land in which they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are [open] camps or fortifications,  and what the land is, whether it is fat (productive) or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. Make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

Before my son’s trip I encouraged him to research the area. What are some places you can go? Find out how you will get around? Let’s just say, he was clueless when he arrived. The person who was suppose to stay with him backed out at the last minute, because he was not good with talking to people in person. The others that he was suppose to meet up with did not want to leave their hotel rooms and the ones that lived in the city had their car towed the night before. It took my son until the third day to leave the little place we rented him for the week. He had to learn to get out for himself and go.

Eventually he made it to the beach, which was three miles from where he was staying. He took an Uber to an island, that a couple of the people were working, so he could meet them. He made an effort. He did not just order in all week and not leave until it was time to fly home. He got out. An effort is a serious attempt, it is not just showing up.

When the Israelites got back to the camp they were excited for the land. Verses 17-18, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. But the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified (walled) and very large…” They had never been there before. They could not move forward because of fear of who they might come in contact with. This is the same group of people that witness God stop an army with the Red Sea. These were heads of the camps. They were leaders. They were men Moses trusted. Did they carry the vision? Could they walk in trust that God would deliver them into the Promised Land? Unfortunately, they could not and wandered in the wilderness for an other forty years. They were so close. However, since they had never been there before they did not have confidence and wanted to go back (under new leadership) to what they knew even though it would not be a land of milk and honey.

Right now we are navigating through areas we have never been before. Gas prices are at an all time high. It takes over a hundred dollars to fill up our tanks. Food costs are at an all time high. We are having to get creative with what we cook. Businesses do not have the man power to keep open and are cutting their hours short.

Refuse to let fear make the decisions for you. Do not let fear be how you raise your kids. We are raising them to GO. Raise them for the Great Commission. Do not let fear of someone else’s views be why you do not want to listen to them. Be an example of the New Commandment (love that unselfishly seeks the best for others). Do not let the fear of circumstances halt your generosity. We are to encourage each other to do good works. Do not let fear of never being here cause you to go back to where you are familiar.

My prayer for you: I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. (Ephesians 3:15-21 MSG)

Posted on

Does my love tank have a leak?

John 13:34 (AMP) I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.

What was important to Jesus? He wants you to see others the way He saw you! He wants you to love the way He loved. How did He love? He never missed an opportunity to show love through His hands!

We are love deficient because of our love walk. You may say “I do not hate anyone, I just love everyone.” Can I show you what Jesus said was love?

John 15:13 (AMP) No one has greater love [nor stronger commitment] than to lay down his own life for his friends.

A lot of times we like to think of our friends as in our “circle.” It is easy to do things and want things for people that we know and that we already have a relationship with. Jesus did not do stuff for those that were in His “circle.” It gets more challenging when we start to look for opportunities to love others. That is the love that He wanted us to share. It is radical, it is aggressive and it is life giving.

Are you easily discouraged, depressed, filled with self-pity? Can I encourage you to get active in your pursuit to love who Jesus told you to love. You may say that “how can I do this when I do not feel love myself?” I get it. This tells me that I have to fight off apathy even harder and get out there anyways. Can I show you a promise in the Word?

Isaiah 58:7-12 (AMP) Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not to hide yourself from [the needs of] your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break out like the dawn, and your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth; your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity], the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression], the finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech, and if you offer yourself to [assist] the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday. And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your soul in scorched and dry places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins; you will raise up and restore the age-old foundations [of buildings that have been laid waste]; you will be called Repairer of the Breach,Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

The new life that Jesus died to give you is not one for you to live passively with. It is a victorious life. A victorious life is an abundant life. A life filled with passion and purpose. If your love tank is running on empty, may I suggest filling up someone else’s? According to the above scripture, that kind of love gives strength to your bones. Your soul will be satisfied in the scorched and dry places. Wow! That is totally opposite of what we want to do. I am ready to come out of all these ups and downs. I want to make an impact for His Kingdom. How about you? It is time for me to love my neighbor (unselfishly seeking the best for others).

Practical ways: Pay for the person’s meal in the drive thru that is waiting behind you. Tell someone at the grocery store that they look amazing. Clean out that closet or storage area and give it away. Start a diaper drive for the local foster care ministry. Send or bring flowers to a widow on Valentine’s Day. Invite the coworker who has no family over for dinner (especially during the holidays). Actively look for ways to help out my community with building projects, yard maintenance, home repairs, etc.

Pray and be the hands and feet of Christ. Love the way Jesus loved and you will not have a leaky love tank any longer!